The Salt in the Wounds
by xoxAmyxox
Summary: Booth and Brennan return from their year apart each with baggage which will make their lives anything but simple. BASED ON MAJOR SPOILER SPECULATION. Please read and review! Eventual B&B.


Survival Instinct

**A/N Ok. Here's the proper version. Many thanks to those who commented on the sketch I posted yesterday. I have proof read this chapter multiple times but there's bound to be a few mistakes in there somewhere. It's another take of the beginning of season 6...I know it's been done to death but I feel I take to do a version of my own. PLEASE BEWARE-RECENT MAJOR SPOILERS...READ AT YOUR OWN RISK, IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW, DONT READ...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

**I do not own Bones and unfortunately never will...**

One year. 365 days. 525600 minutes. One rotation of the earth around the sun. Yet here they were, where they had promised to meet. Booth took the opportunity to observe his partner from a distance...even from across the reflection pool he could see how much she'd physically changed. Her hair was shorter and her skin tanned darker. Cogs turned in his brain in alarm at the observation of her apparent weight loss. None of that mattered, that fact was that she was there waiting for him...that was all he could ask for.

She looked up briefly from her now luke warm coffee cup when she could sense a pair of eyes watching up. Anguish boiled deep in her stomach, he would never understand how difficult this past year had been for her; how much of a mistake she believed herself to have made. She sighed with relief when she saw him standing on the other side of the pool. She stood up from the bench in acknowledgement that she had seen him. She smiled weakly as she attempted to keep her tears at bay.

As Booth approached, getting closer and closer his stomach dropped further and further and he took in the state of his partner. She looked tired and exhausted which could have been expected after working flat out for a year but what he didn't expect was to see healing bruises and a small abrasion just above her brow. Choosing to let it lie for now he bounded over and took her where she belonged in his strong arms. She would have never admitted to him how much his strong welcoming embrace crippled her healed body.

"Bones!" he heard her call. Oh, how she'd missed that name and the sense of belonging that it gave her. A small sob escaped her lips as she felt his heart beat softly threw his chest.

Suddenly loosing the ability to form words she omitted a vocal response and pulled her arms from his grasp, throwing them around his neck in a bid to stop him from ever getting away from her again.

Brennan's unexpected expression of sadness caused Booth to pull away from her somewhat desperate embrace. He pulled back to be face with Brennan's tear stricken eyes. The deep blue pools cried out a sense of regret and numerous other emotions Booth couldn't identify.

"What's wrong?" he soothed, brushing his thumb lightly across her cheek. That display of affection alone instantly lead Brennan to believe that things would finally start to get better.

"I'm...I'm just so happy to see you! I missed you!" she paused carefully thinking through her next choice of words "I had a lot of time to think...there's something you should know before anything else happens" she finished. Booth smiled but gave her no time to continue before she lost her nerve.

"I missed you too! I'm so excited to be home...back on good ol' American soil!" he exclaimed happily enveloping her in another hug whilst taking in his surroundings.

"I'm so, so glad to be home" she muttered. She clutched his shirt tightly in her fists letting the tears fall freely. He pulled back again at the heartbreaking sound of her crying.

"This isn't like you!" he said softly. He looked deep into her eyes to find some reason, and explanation for this very rare side of his Bones and found none. Somehow he felt he no longer had the right to call her that after everything that had happened over the past year.

"I know, I've changed" she began taking Booth by surprise at her words "Maluku wasn't all it was cracked up to be" she told him, trying her best to regain her composure.

"It wasn't?" Booth questioned, urging her to continue.

"No...the whole thing was a mop..." Booth chucked

"I think you mean it was a flop" his smiled dropped when he gained no response. The old Bones would have reprimanded him for a comment like that

"That's not what I wanted to tell you..." Brennan began but was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Brennan pulled away from Booth lightly as if she had been jolted with a shock of electricity. It was a feminine sound and Brennan's heart sank several feet down to her feet, even lower than it was before. Booth untangled himself from Brennan's arms and turned towards the pretty woman stood behind him. Brennan stood tall, ashamed of her emotional outburst and wiped the tears from her eyes. As her vision became more focused, she noticed the woman seek out Booth's hand, lacing her fingers with his.

"Oh, hello...I didn't realise you had company Booth?" at the drop of a hat Brennan closed up and her comment came out harsher than she originally intended. Booth cleared his throat nervously. He had not been looking forward to this part of the reunion and thought it best to get it over and done with.

"erm, yeah...this is Alison Daily" part of him wanted to laugh when he saw Brennan squint in observation at the mysterious woman on his arm. He could imagine the thoughts in her head, her analysing Alison's bone structure and appearance just as she would a dead body. This alone made Booth stiffen as he continued the introduction. "She's a journalist. She was sent over to Afghan to write a paper on our work training snipers.

"It's nice to meet you" Brennan replied coolly, still yet to remove her eyes from Alison. Booth observed that if looks could kill he would have a rather large mess on his hands.

"Seeley's told me so much about you! I couldn't believe it when he told me you used to work together" Alison started extending her hand for Brennan to take. Much like a young child told not to talk to strangers; Brennan looked down at Alison's hand in a mixture of confusion and disgust. _Used to_? Booth's use ofpast tense sent alarm bells ringing in Brennan's head.

"We're partners...I...I thought we were still going to be partners" Brennan stuttered. She truly felt as if her world was collapsing down around her.

" I was gonna tell you...I've got some more news...I've been offered a job in intelligence...better pay...better hours...I'll be able to spend more time with Parker..." Booth said immediately regretting the words as they left his lips realising that impact they would have on an obviously weak and emotional Brennan.

"Better than working with me?" she asked. Her heartbreaking words struck him like a knife to the gut. Booth stared sympathetically at Brennan. He thought this was what she wanted. She turned him down. He had told her that night that he had to move on.

"Of course not, we'll always be partners" He took a step towards her and she equally took a step back away from him. His presence had gone from comforting to stinging in a mere matter of minutes. She put her hands up in order to sustain distance between them though metaphorically she knew there was more distance between them than just her hands. It came in the form of the woman standing behind them.

"How can that be so? You're working a different department...my expertise is not relevant to intelligence despite the fact that I myself am very intelligent" she stammered. She wasn't sure how much more she could take of this or anything else for that matter.

"You weren't kidding Seeley" Alison piped up

"My hearing is also perfectly adequate, Miss Daily...I trust Booth told you all about my incapability as a social human being" Booth frowned and Brennan's outburst.

"Whoa, hold on a second...what the hell!" he began but Brennan refused to back down.

"I'm sure you're very lovely Miss Daily, you're facial features are very appealing and your petite athletic bone structure I'm sure proves more than capable to keep up with Booth's stamina and sex drive" Brennan said looking Alison up and down. Booth nervously looked around in embarrassment when Brennan brought up the sensitive topic of sex.

"Excuse me?" Alison gasped.

"Bones...what the hell is with you?" Booth stepped in standing between the two women. He wanted nothing more for the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

"Me? Oh nothing...my trip wasn't obviously as worthwhile as yours. When you made me promise me to meet you by the coffee cart I wasn't aware we had to bring guests" Silence fell upon them. Booth had nothing to counteract that comment. She was one hundred percent correct and Booth couldn't argue with her. Realising how he had over stepped the mark he attempted to reason with Brennan.

"Bones, please" By now it was definitely Brennan 1 Booth 0 and the truths kept coming.

"Please...don't call me that. We've both changed but a long time ago you said that happened between us should just be ours, right?" she reminded him. Her final words before fleeing the scene hit him like a ton of bricks. Tears burned the back of her eye lids as she pulled away from Booth's grip, escaping the scene before her.

Booth wanted nothing more than to chase after her but thought it best to leave her to come to terms with the changes that had fallen on them.

"Hey, baby you ok?" Alison asked. Booth sighed...what sort of question was that? Wasn't it obvious that things were not ok and probably never would be again? He sighed again running his hand over his face in defeat.

"Yeah...that could have gone better" he said turning back to Alison. She couldn't be any more different from Bones. She had dark red hair and illuminating green eyes. Her tall stature fit adequately alongside Booth. She linked her arm through his own and pulled him to her gently.

"You heart breaker eh?" she said with a smile. Booth shuddered at Alison's sarcasm.

"You have no idea" Booth said before leading her away from a place that no longer held the meaning it used to.

"Has she spoken to you at all?" Cam asked Angela. They were both seated with steaming mugs of coffee in the lounge area of the lab. Hodgins was close by pouring himself a cup of the hot beverage. The three of them turned to the sound of Brennan's return to the lab and the abrupt slam of her office door.

"I wish she would tell us what happened in Maluku...she's barely said two words about it" Cam said staring at Brennan who was hastily pacing around her office.

"My guess...Booth is back. It's been a year to the day remember? The promise they made?" Angela said. Cam gasped in realisation. She placed her head in her hands.

"Of course...but I thought she'd be happy...before she was itching to see him...she hasn't told anyone why she came back early or what happened on the dig" Cam muttered.

"If you ask me if it had been good we would have heard no end to it. She's been back 3 weeks before she was due to come home and she's in a rough state, she's lost weight and did you see the cuts and stuff" Angela said with concern.

"I know...I don't know what we should do, something bad happened on that dig...I tried to look it up but there's no record of it...it's like it never existed" Cam told them.

"She'll come to us when she's ready" Hodgins rested his hand on Angela's shoulder as he sat down next to his Wife.

"Part of me thinks she was prepared to tell Booth what happened" Angela explained.

"Was? What changed?" Cam inquired.

"I'm gonna kill him when I find out what he's done" Angela said in frustration at the inability to help her friend.

"You can't be mad at him for moving on" Hodgins suggested. Angela and Cam glared at him in confusion.

"What?" the two women chorused together.

"What did you just say?" Angela stuttered

"A while back he emailed me saying he'd met this journalist girl" Hodgins explained to a less than pleased Angela.

"Oh please no..." Cam sighed

"She turned him down, Cam" Angela reminded her friend.

"Why did she do that?" Cam asked. It was obvious to everyone around them...even those who didn't know them. So why couldn't her colleague see that?

"Because she's Brennan that's why" Angela concluded.

"This is all wrong" Cam stood up and leaned over the railing. She looked down at her empire and looked back on how much had changed over the years. Things used to be comfortable. Now, things were just a mess.

The phone suddenly rang, with drawing Cam from her reverie.

"Dr Saroyan? ...Erm, no this is the place...can I pass on a message? Oh, ok...I'll just get her" she placed her hand over the ear piece and put it to one side.

"Who is it?" Angela asked with curiosity.

"It's the hospital...Dr Brennan?" She shouted down Brennan who had suddenly emerged from her office. " Its the hospital for you..." Cam finished. Brennan's eye brows rose as she raced up the stairs to retrieve the phone from Cam.

"Thanks Cam" Brennan said taking the phone from her.

"Sweetie, are you ok?" Angela asked

"I'm fine. Hello? Yes, it is...right, thank you very much I shall be there shortly" She hung up abruptly. "I'm sorry Cam but I've got to go" she said hastily.

"That was the hospital is everything ok?" Angela asked placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Will people stop asking me that? I'm sick of it!" Brennan said shrugging Angela's hand away.

"We're worried Dr B" Hodgins said.

"Well there's no need to be...I'm fine...I'm very lucky considering" Brennan said. Realising she'd said more than she had intended. She turned her back suddenly on her three friends.

" Considering what?" Cam pushed. Brennan paused to think of a response. When she came up with none, she stormed off without another word.

She raced across DC to the hospital and collared a nurse loitering in the entrance.

"I got a call to say a Lucy Falconnio had been flown in from Darwin, Australia" Brennan began. The nurse raised her eyebrows. The story of the mystery patient had been floating around the hospital all day and she nodded quickly.

"I'll just get her doctor" the nurse said reaching for the phone behind the desk.

"Thank you!" Brennan said pacing the corridor frantically. The nurse handed a slip of paper to Brennan with details of the floor number and ward where Lucy's doctor could be found.

"Dr Brennan! How are you coping? It can't be easy" The doctor said with concern.

"I'm coping just fine. Where's Lucy? How's she doing?" Brennan said whilst trying to catch her breath.

"She's being assessed at the moment; the Doctors in Darwin did a good job" the doctor explained.

"Her legs?" Brennan dared to ask.

"Couldn't be saved I'm afraid...but she's doing a lot better now they're gone" the doctor said positively.

"She'll never walk again?" Brennan said, her voice laced with sadness. Her hopes rose when the doctor shook his head in disagreement.

"We'll be able to fit her with prosthetic limbs here once her wounds have healed up" the doctor replied. Brennan sighed with relief.

"Can I see her?" Brennan asked. The doctor nodded.

"Of course...this way" he said. He took her arm gently and showed her to Lucy's private room

She peaked quietly into Lucy's room. She had met Lucy on the dig in Maluku. Brennan smiled with relief at the sight of the 19 year old bright prospective anthropology student who was working with Brennan in Maluku. The sheets on her bed fell flat below her knees.

Brennan took a seat next to her bed. Lucy stirred and Brennan bent over Lucy. Lucy opened her eyes suddenly in confusion and fear.

"Dr Brennan?" Lucy gasped relaxing when she recognised the face infront of her.

"Shush...don't talk" Brennan hushed her.

"What happened? Where am I?" Lucy asked attempting to sit up. Pain over came up and Brennan took her by the shoulders, easing her back down on the mound of pillows beneath her.

"We're home...the damage to your legs was extensive, surgeons at the hospital in Darwin had to amputate both legs but you're gonna be fine" Brennan explained. Tears glistened in Lucy's eyes at the news. Brennan tried her best to remain in control of her emotion.

"Is that right?" Lucy remarked in shock and frustration.

"Consider yourself very very lucky. The hospital here can fit you with new legs, you will be able to walk again...we'll get through this together" Brennan whispered. Lucy frowned.

"Are you ok?" Lucy asked. Brennan shrugged.

"I'm fine...I'm healing nicely. No one knows what happened. The Maluku government have made it look like it never existed" Brennan explained but Lucy shook her head.

"But it did...we were there!" Lucy said hysterically. Brennan gently brushed Lucy's hair away from her face comfortingly.

"I know...but we survived" Brennan said. It felt like she was trying to convince herself more than Lucy.

"What about the others?" Lucy asked. Brennan rather hoped that she wasn't going to have to answer that question any time soon.

"It's just us now" Brennan said in a low voice.

"What! But...Daisy! There were 300 workers on the site!" She said desperate and frantic.

"We were the only survivors"

A/N So, what do you think? Worth developing or scrapping? I'd like to hear what you think!

Many thanks for reading!

Amy x


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